The Black Infant and Toddler Equity Project

Child Trends has collaborated with the Equity Research Action Coalition at UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute—with funding from the Pritzker Children’s Initiative—to develop a series of resources focused on the development and well-being of Black families, infants, and toddlers. This series, which uses data from the Rapid Assessment of Pandemic Impact on Development – Early Childhood (RAPID-EC) and the State of Babies Yearbook, is grounded in the perspective that Black families are best supported by an intentional and strategic focus on systems, programming, and strategies that recognize the impact of racism and oppression on Black people and center their cultural strengths and assets.

Black Parents and Their Babies: Attending to the First 1,000 Days: This report centers the racialized experiences and assets of Black families by recognizing the importance of the 3Ps—protecting, promoting, and preserving—in supporting the health and well-being of Black families. Using this framework, the report examines whether policies and practices are protecting Black families and babies from racism, discrimination, and material hardship; promoting Black families’ and babies’ economic security, health, and access to early learning opportunities; and preserving Black families’ and babies’ cultural identity.

Applying Indicators and Theory to the Delivery of Early Care and Education Supports for Black Families with Infants and Toddlers: This brief presents demographic information on Black families and uses the ZERO TO THREE State of Babies Indicators and Yosso’s Community Cultural Wealth Model to highlight practice-based recommendations that human service professionals can use to better support economically disadvantaged Black families with infants and toddlers in the United States.

Anti-Racist Policymaking to Promote, Protect, and Preserve Black Families and Babies: This brief uses the 3Ps framework for supporting Black families—along with an established compilation of child and family policies produced by the Prenatal-to-3 Impact Center—to identify approaches and policies that have the potential to promote, protect, and preserve Black families.